Have you chosen your dates for Bangkok or Phuket? If you are travelling on a full British citizen passport for a holiday, start with the visa-exempt conditions and complete a TDAC for your arrival date. Keep your passport, flight details and hotel booking beside you so you can enter each detail accurately. This guide takes you from documents to prepare before departure through immigration and baggage reclaim after landing.
The Royal Thai Embassy in London states that, from 15 September 2026, British passport holders can visit visa-free for up to 30 days for tourism only. Its current guidance also limits visa-exempt entry to twice in a calendar year. This is a British-passport guide: family or friends travelling on another nationality’s passport need to check their own conditions. British-issued refugee or other travel documents require a visa in advance.
The maximum allowance is not a promise that every visitor will receive it. Before leaving immigration, read the last permitted day of stay stamped in your passport and leave by that date. Work, study, retirement and other long stays require the appropriate arrangements for your purpose. The embassy’s entry-frequency guidance differs from the FCDO’s distinction between land and air arrivals; if you plan repeated visits, ask the embassy about your itinerary before relying on an exemption.
Keep your passport, flights and accommodation bookings together. Your full British citizen passport needs at least six months’ validity after arrival and one blank page, according to the FCDO. Copy your name exactly as it appears in the passport into the TDAC and use your accommodation’s English booking details for its name and address. Use the Thai local arrival date and inbound flight number rather than simply copying the date you leave the UK.
Prepare accommodation evidence and a return or onward ticket. London’s current exemption page specifies onward travel within 30 days and says immigration may ask for evidence of funds of 20,000 baht per person or interview you. The FCDO page gives different lower figures and a family threshold; these are conflicting official accounts, so do not treat the lower amount as settled guidance. Ask the Thai embassy about the evidence for your journey. Proof of travel funds is separate from TDAC: submitting TDAC is free.
TDAC is the online arrival card that replaces the paper form. Non-Thai nationals entering by air, land or sea must submit it before immigration. Children and infants need their own details too, including on a family trip.
Complete it within the three-day window including your arrival date. Have your passport, flight details, English accommodation address and email ready, and use the local arrival date in Thailand. Download the document after submission so you can open it at the airport even if the internet connection is unreliable.
Completing an arrival card does not issue a visa. TDAC and visa arrangements are separate. If your purpose requires a visa, prepare both the visa and the arrival card.
Follow the Immigration / Passport Control signs after leaving the aircraft. Keep your passport, TDAC document and any required visa readily accessible. If an officer asks about your purpose or accommodation, answer using your actual booked plans.
After immigration, first read the permitted-stay expiry date in your passport. Continue to Baggage Claim, collect your luggage and pass through customs into arrivals. Declare goods where required. Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang and other airports have different layouts, so read the guide for your arrival airport too.
If you transit without passing through immigration, TDAC is not required. If you leave the airport or go through immigration to collect and recheck baggage, you need an arrival card.
For separately booked flights, ask the airline before departure whether your baggage will be checked through and whether you must enter Thailand. A booking described as a connection can still require immigration clearance and a TDAC.
You need TDAC even when making an eligible visa-exempt holiday visit on a British passport. TDAC is the arrival declaration; a visa depends on your purpose and eligibility. A qualifying tourist trip can be visa-free, but TDAC alone is insufficient for purposes such as work or study.
London’s current guidance gives up to 30 days for tourism from 15 September 2026. Read the actual permitted-stay date in your passport after immigration rather than setting your departure only by the maximum allowance. For repeated trips, check the embassy’s current conditions because official sources differ on entry-frequency limits.
Use the Thai local arrival date on your ticket. If you leave the UK on one day and arrive in Thailand the next, enter that next day. Check the inbound flight number and arrival date together.
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